Presto Change-o! Pants become a Purse! Part 1

Some months back, a relative of mine gave me a bag of clothes she no longer wanted. I took most of what she gave me to the second-hand store where I work during the day, but in this bundle of clothing were a cute pair of pants that I just couldn’t let go of. Sadly, they’re a junior’s size 5 and don’t come up over my grown woman hips.
So, I sat on them for awhile, trying to figure out what I wanted to do with them. Yesterday evening I finally decided to make a purse with them.

Very Basic How-To

The first and most basic step is to cut off the legs. You want to cut them off pretty much at the crotch. Observe the dotted “cut here” line I drew in.

I’ve seen a lot of these purses made in such a way that after the legs are severed, the bottom edge of the now super-micro-mini-skirt is stitched together. This is fine, but it doesn’t allow for much actual storage space. So I made mine with a bottom plate. Simply cut out an extra rectangle of fabric and stitch it on the bottom edge of the skirt…

Of course, you may have to play with it a little get the proper sizing. Making the initial rectangle longer than it needs to be, like I did, is better than cutting out something too short. You could also just do the measuring and math, which is probably quicker, but I’m lazy.

So Far…

Now I just need to add the straps and a lining and Presto! However, I think I want to get a little fancy and do some embroidery on it first.. Any ideas or suggestions? I’d like to here them! Seriously, give the comment box some love!

4 thoughts on “Presto Change-o! Pants become a Purse! Part 1”

I’ve made a bunch of these, and I used that idea of the bottom panel on one for my sister. Lots more room, but I had to put a stiffener in the bottom to help hold the shape. Are you making one handle or two? I’ve found, after many tries, that I prefer two handles – the purse seems to hang better. Embroidery is fun too; hope you do that. Pockets!! I love pockets – I even put a pocket behind the zipper. Now I’ll have to watch for Part II. (man, what a LONG comment…more like a book!) 😆